Bow sight



Feb. 2, 1954 D. J. LEAFSTRAND 2,667,2

BOW SIGHT Filed Nov. 23, 1951 INVENTOR.

fas J Leaffrano Patentecl Feb. 2, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 2,667,692 BOW SIGHT Douglas J. Leafstrand, Ludjngton, Mich. Application November 23, 1951, Serial No. 252,742

4 Claims.

This invention relates to and is concerned with a particularly effective, novel, simple and eco-, nomically manufactured bow sight.

In archery, while bow sights have been made and used, in practice they have usually been heavy, cumbersome and expensive and not especially effective. Of course in some archery no sight is used, but the archer estimates the angle of elevation at which the arrow should be discharged in connection with the distance the target is away from the archer and the strength of the bow used. With my invention, a very practical, useful and simple sight is produced which may be adjusted to different positions in accordance with the bow strength and the distance which the arrow is to traverse, which adjustable sight will be governed as to the position it occupics in accordance with a scale or indicator which takes into consideration the strength of the bow and the arrow flight distance. Such sight is readily attached to a bow and when set in accordance with the bow strength and the distance that the arrow is to make, the bow is automatically positioned so that the arrow discharged will follow the flight which will bring it to the target far better than when the skill of the archer is relied upon.

An understanding of the invention may be had from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the novel bow sight of my invention, shown attached to a fragmentary portion of the bow.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation thereof.

Fig. '3 is a horizontal section substantially on the plane of line 33 of Fig. 1, looking downwardly upon the bow sight which is shown in plan.

Fig. 4. is an elevation similar to that shown in Fig. l, with the sight adjusted to a different position.

Fig. 5 is an enlargement of the adjusting scale which is located at one side of the bow attaching member of the sight, and

Fig. 6 shows, in side elevation and at a reduced scale, a bow in the act of shooting and the manner in which the sight is taken.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures of the drawing.

The bow i may be any conventional bow applied with the usual bow string and may be of a selected strength which ordinarily will be from to 60 pounds, and other bows at 30, 40, and 50 pounds strength between the minimum and maximum strengths.

In the novel structure of how sight which I have produced, a supporting member made of flat metal is provided to be secured to the bow a short distance above its middle. Such support comprises a flat side 2, located in a vertical plane, which lies against a side of the bow and which at its rear end portion has an ear 3 turned outwardly away from the bow. At its opposite end portion, it has a section 4 adapted to be located at the front of the bow and thereagainst. The ear 3 has a rear sight opening 5 therethrough. The section 4 is secured to the bow by a flexible band 6 or other equivalent connection which goes through spaced slots 1 in the section 4 and around the bow as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

An adjustable sight arm 8, also of flat metal, is located at the outer side of the section 2 and thereagainst, and at its front en terminates in an upwardly extending front sight 9. Near its rear end and upper edge a screw Hi passes therethrough and through the section 2, receiving a thumb nut i which may be tightened to secure the arm 8 in a selected position with respect to the section 2 on which it is adjustably mounted. The outer portion of the arm 8 is offset outwardly so that the front sight 9 is in direct alignment with the rear sight opening 5, and with the eye of the archer when an arrow is to be shot, as shown in Fig.6.

At the outer side of the section 2 of the sight support, an indicator scale I2 is located which consists of a plurality of generally vertical and horizontal lines crossing each other. Such indicator is best shown in an enlarged View in Fig. 5. The frontmost line I 4 is vertical and, successively to the rear therefrom, the other spaced lines M are progressively inclined to the vertical as shown in Fig. 5. Such lines are indicating lines referring to the strength of the bow, and are successively numbered 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, meaning bows of 20, 30, 40, 50 and pounds strength. The uppermost line i5 horizontally is in a substantially true horizontal plane when the bow is positioned vertical and successive lines below are progressively at greater angles one after the other to the horizontal converging upwardly as shown. These lines shown as numbered 1 to 7 inclusive are the distances that the target is away from the archer from 10' to yards. If a bow of 50 pound strength is used, and the target is approximately 50 yards away, where the two lines 5 cross each other is a point to which the upper edgeof the arm 8 should be adjusted and secured in such position, a point in the upper edge of the arm 8 being coincident with the crossing point of the two lines 5. This will cause the bow to be tilted at its upper end portion to the rear, as in Fig. 4, when the rear sight opening and the front sight 9 are horizontally aligned with the eye of the archer. If the bow is of a lesser strength, for example, a 40 pound bow, the point of adjustment is where the vertical line 5 and the general horizontal line 4 cross each other. The bow will be tilted farther back as the arrow must be shot at a higher elevation at its front end to have it reach a target at the same distance. An arrow does not follow a true horizontal flight but should it be discharged with the front and rear sights horizontally aligned, the arrow begins to drop immediately after it has left the bow. Therefore it must be held so as to follow an elevated path during the first-part of its flight, dropping during the latter part of its flight to reach the target horizontally aligned with the center of the bow.

The structure described is inexpensive to make, easily attached to the bow, is quickly and accurately adjusted to a desired position, taking into consideration the distance of a target and the strength of the bow. The invention is defined in the appended claims, and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

I claim:

1. A bow sight comprising a plate of flat metal having an intermediate section and end sections, one at each end of the intermediate section disposed substantially at right angles to the intermediate section and extending therefrom in opposite directions, one of said end sections having a rear sight opening therethrough, and a sight arm located alongside said intermediate section and extending at one end from adjacent said rear sight end section away from said rear sight section, at its outer end having an upwardly extending front sight, a bolt passing through the inner end of said sight arm and intermediate section, and a tightening nut on said bolt to secure the arm in a fixed relation to said intermediate section in any selected position thereof to which adjusted.

2. A bow sight comprising a plate of fiat metal adapted to be located against a side of a bow, having an ear at its inner end disposed substantially at right angles to said plate and extending away from a bow, said ear having a rear sight, means for securing said plate to a bow, a sight arm having a pivotal mounting on and lying alongside said plate, said pivotal mounting being at the inner end of the arm and adjacent said ear, said arm extending outwardly beyond said plate and having an upwardly projecting front sight at its free end aligned with the rear sight, and means for releasably tightening said pivotal mounting to secure the sight arm in any one of a plurality of selected positions with reference to said plate.

3. A bow sight comprising, a plate of fiat metal adapted to be located against a side of a bow and be secured in a fixed position relative to said bow, said plate having a rear sight at the inner end and to one side of said plate, a sight arm comprising a second plate of metal lying alongside said first plate and having an outer end portion extending forwardly beyond a bow to which the first plate is adapted to be secured, said sight arm at its forward portion having an upwardly extending sight generally aligned with the rear sight, means for releasably connecting the sight arm to the plate for raising and lowering said sight on the sight arm to different selected positions, said sight arm at a portion thereof lying against said first plate having a straight generally horizontal upper edge located below the upper edge of the first plate.

4. A bow sight comprising, a plate of flat metal adapted to be located against a side of a bow between the ends thereof in a fixed position relative to the bow, and be located in a vertical plane when said bow is upright, said plate, at its rear end having an ear extending laterally from the plateaway from the side thereof adapted to lie against a side of said bow, said ear having a rear sight, a sight arm comprising a second metal plate lying against the side of the first plate away from said bow, having its upper edge below the upper edge of said first plate, means for releasably pivotally conecting said sight arm at its rear end portion to said first plate outwardly from said ear, said sight arm extending at its forward portion in front of the first plate and having a front sight at its forward end portion, said sight arm at its forward end portion being offset laterally to locate the front sight in substantial alignment with the rear sight in a substantially common vertical plane.

DOUGLAS J LEAFSTRAND.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS- Number Name Date 1,340,453 Lera May 18, 1920 1,485,064 Berger Feb. 26, 1924 2,351,103 Brown June 13, 1944 2,458,510 Garand et al. Jan. 11, 1949 2,461,122 McQuitty Feb. 8, 1949 2,559,927 Beloungy July 10, 1951 2,574,599 Stieber Nov. 13, 1951 

